Work Text:
Buck turns to wave at the real estate agent one final time, shooting her a feigned smile out of politeness that he drops when he reaches the gate, but when he sees the person standing on the other side his feet come to a sudden halt while his heart skips three straight beats.
“Tommy,” he whispers on an exhale.
Tommy’s face brightens with that wide grin which Buck is achingly familiar with, and he can feel the way his heart settles in his chest as Tommy’s smile eases into something softer. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“I heard you’re moving again.”
“Uh, y-yeah, I guess.” Buck presses his lips together. “Eddie’s back, so.”
Tommy nods. He looks over Buck’s shoulder, studying the house behind him for a moment before returning his attention to Buck, their eyes locking once again. “So, is this the house?”
Buck frowns. “Wait, what are you doing here?”
“Chimney told me you’re trying to buy this house.”
Buck stares at him for a long moment, brain stuttering like an old, scratched-up CD. Then he moves, opens the gate and steps outside, and starts walking towards his car, beckoning with his head for Tommy to follow him.
“I lied to the real estate agent,” he says, dropping his voice low. “The owner didn’t go for my offer, I lowballed it a little too much, I guess. So I told her I was gonna make a better offer and I just wanted to see the house again but…” he trails off as he comes to a stop, spinning on his heel to face Tommy again.
“You’re not going to make another offer?” Tommy asks.
“The, uh, the first one was way higher than what I can afford, so,” Buck shrugs. “Can’t really go higher than my borrowing limit — wait, I didn’t tell Chimney about this —” Buck jerks his thumb towards the house, now a few doors down the road from where they’re standing. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“I didn’t know that, I…” Tommy trails off while he taps one hand, forming a loose fist, in the palm of the other. “I just wanted to see it.”
Buck blinks. “The house? What, are you looking to move?” he asks then pauses as another thought occurs to him and his eyes grow impossibly wide. “Were you—”
Tommy takes a step backwards, shoulders drawing up, and only then does Buck realise he just moved, stepping closer to him, and he stops and breathes out a frustrated sigh. Buck doesn’t break his gaze, and he’s aware that the way he’s looking at Tommy right now must be quite harsh, but he can’t really find it in himself to care. “You weren’t going to try to buy it, were you?”
Tommy shrugs and tucks his hands in his jeans’ pockets. “Not on my own, no.”
The crease between Buck’s eyebrows deepens. “Not — not on your own? What does that mean?”
“It means—” Tommy sighs, finally deflating. “It means I’m tired of running, Evan. I’m tired of being a coward. I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I hate that guy.”
Buck doesn’t say anything in response. He doesn’t know what to say. The silence between them stretches and grows heavy as Buck tries to defragment the conversation though it proves to be an exercise in futility.
“What are you saying, Tommy?”
Tommy is the one who closes the gap between them with a tiny, hesitant step forward. “We could buy this house,” he mutters. “Between the two of us we could get a bigger loan, and once my house sells—”
“You-you’re selling your house?” Buck shakes his head, an almost nonperceptible movement. “You love that place.”
“Yeah, I know you do, too.” Tommy smiles. “Or you did, at least.”
“I do.” Buck hurries to reassure him, but the question still rings in his head. “Why — why would you sell it, Tommy?”
“Eh, it’s too small, isn’t it? Compared to this one, definitely,” Tommy swings his arm, gesturing vaguely towards the house. “I mean, this place has a real garden, for one. Does it look as good in person as it does in the pictures?”
Buck grins. “Yeah, actually, it’s the first place that I walked in and I wasn’t immediately disappointed. It was starting to drive me crazy.”
Tommy huffs a laugh. “Yeah, I get that.”
“The backyard is great, though, and there’s a massive tub in the upstairs bathroom, I actually thought it was a hot tub at first?” Buck pauses when Tommy laughs, and he can’t help the way his grin widens at the sound. “It just needs a little work in the attic, and there’s all this unused space in the basement—” he pauses and clears his throat. “Uh, anyway. It’s a big house,” he shrugs. “But I like your house, too.”
Tommy looks at him for a long moment, an unbearably soft look in his eyes. “You should come over. I’ll make us dinner.”
Buck fixes him with a bemused expression.
“Okay, you can make us dinner, I’ll just—” he makes a vague sweeping gesture, “—stay out of your way.”
It becomes increasingly harder not to laugh and Buck breaks, the sound bubbling out of him. Fuck, he’s missed this.
Tommy’s smiling at him. “Come over. Let’s just have dinner and talk.”
“About the house?”
“Yes, the house, and — and everything, Evan.”
“What are you saying, Tommy?” he asks once again.
Tommy breathes out a sigh. “You’re gonna make me spell it out?”
“Yes,” Buck takes another step closer and the distance between them shrinks a little more. “‘Cause the last time we tried to talk, you were saying you weren’t ready to move in.”
“Yeah, that…that guy was an idiot,” Tommy shakes his head, and the corners of his eyes start to crinkle when Buck snorts an ugly laugh in response. “I said that, I said some other stupid shit, too.”
“Yeah, me too.” Buck drops his voice until it’s barely above a whisper. “But you came when I called.”
Tommy inches even closer. “I always will, Evan,” he whispers before reaching out and taking a hold of Buck’s chin between his thumb and index finger and tipping his head into a kiss full of promises of all that’s yet to come.